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AFC promises to repurpose GDF with focus on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
Leader of the AFC, Nigel Hughes
Kaieteur News – Leader for the Alliance for Change (AFC) prominent attorney Nigel Hughes on Friday said that should his party be elected to office, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) would be repurposed and heavy focus be placed on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
At the party’s weekly press conference, Hughes said the repurposing of the GDF is critical to its defence mechanisms as he believes that the era of large armies and several infantry members at the country’s borders are long gone.
“Modern warfare includes drones, includes a very heavy dependence on technology, and therefore the Guyana Defence Force has to be repurposed. Not for the aim of invading anyone, but particularly for the purpose of making any contemplation of an invasion by our neighbor to the west…because of our capacity to inflict serious damage on the capacity of the Venezuelan military to invade Guyana,” Hughes highlighted.
The AFC leader said that more focus needs to be placed on areas of technological expertise so that the GDF can act as a deterrent to Venezuela. Given this perspective, Hughes believes that the GDF needs to switch its focus to electronic surveillance and the gathering of data by reconnaissance specifically by satellite.
Hughes also believes that there should be “the development of the capacity to resist both guerrilla warfare, as well as to inflict damage upon Venezuela’s military operations that would make them reconsider any form of invasion. This, of course, goes in tandem with our diplomatic efforts, which will remain the focus of our attention, but it means that the modern Guyana Defense Force is going to be much more technologically based.”
As a result, the politician said that there needs to be a re-evaluation of the entry requirements for recruits.
Meanwhile, in its National Security and Sovereignty Strategy released to the media on Saturday the party outlined several priorities it intends to focus on with the aim of strengthening the country’s security.
“We will defend every inch of Guyana’s land, air, and sea through proactive border management and integrated command. Expand the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) capacity and presence in key border regions, and deploy drones, satellites, and joint patrols for 24/7 surveillance and early warning systems,” the party said.
Additionally, the AFC intends to establish an Integrated Border Command which will be incorporating the GDF, Guyana Police Force, Immigration, and Customs. The party will also look to deepen strategic partnerships with countries like Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, and Suriname, among other allies.
The AFC said that Indigenous communities will be trained to assist in monitoring illegal crossings and to report incursions.
The party’s strategy also caters for the confrontation of Venezuela’s hybrid threat whereby national protocol will be developed to detect foreign agents, hostile operatives and saboteurs and have them expelled.
“Guyana must be prepared to counter unconventional threats, including migration surges, propaganda, and foreign infiltration, (therefore the AFC will) create a comprehensive migration policy to manage the flow of persons entering Guyana for work or resettlement, (and this will) require biometric screening and background checks for all migrants,” the strategy outlines.
Other areas include the strengthening of counter-intelligence capacity within national security agencies, the introduction of modern legislation to address hybrid warfare, cyber-sabotage, espionage, and disinformation campaigns, combating of organized crime, guns, and gangs, the dismantling of criminal networks and reduce violent crime through specialized enforcement and intelligence-driven policing, and the establishment of a Joint Gang and Gun Crime Unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The strategy further caters for the administration to be able to “Introduce a national ballistic registry, gun tracking systems, and digitized firearm registration, enact anti-racketeering legislation targeting organized crime and money laundering, expand police patrols, undercover units, and CCTV networks in high-crime areas, and enhance Hinterland Security and Cross Border Crime Response.”
The AFC said that these measures are aimed at ensuring that remote communities especially those along the border are protected and so that criminal activity can be addressed swiftly.
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The Guyana Defence Force has indeed undertaken modernization and capability expansion in recent years—approving budgets in the billions of Guyanese dollars to procure helicopters, drone systems, and marine vessels.